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Bruins trade for Tyler Bertuzzi; Sign David Pastrnak |
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Bruins general manager Don Sweeney went from everybody wanting him fired over the summer, to quickly being the most popular guy in Boston thanks to a very busy, but impactful, March 2.
First, the Bruins sent a top-10 protected 2024 first-round pick and a fourth-round selection in 2025 to Detroit for Bertuzzi. The Red Wings will retain 50 percent of his salary in the trade. The 28-year old will be a UFA at seasons end.
Injuries have slowed down Bertuzzi this season as he’s appeared in just 29 games. In those 29 games he has four goals and 10 assists. Last season, Bertuzzi scored 30 times in 68 games.
This trade comes after the Bruins lost a pair of left wingers in back-to-back games, losing Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to injury. Hall is set to get a second opinion on his lower-body injury indicating he’s expected to miss more time than originally thought.
With Detroit retaining 50 percent of Bertuzzi’s salary, the Bruins are over the cap by $426,329. They have until 5:00 PM EST Thursday to be cap compliant. They can do that by placing a player on LTIR, sending a player through demotion waivers or making a trade.
The Bruins could opt to place Hall or Foligno on LTIR to pave the way for Bertuzzi, allowing them to bring the injured player back in the playoffs where what we know as the salary cap no longer matters… Always weird to me.
Buried in the minors and carrying a cap penalty of $1,875,000, the Bruins have actively been trying to move Mike Reilly. Moving Reilly in any cap crunching move will cost the Bruins at least one draft pick. The Bruins have already moved six draft picks in the next two drafts.
Regardless of what the timeframe on injuries to Hall and Foligno look like, the Bruins depth will be hard to beat. Bertuzzi joins Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway as the newest Bruins acquired by the team via trade.
Bruins fans have seen enough of Bertuzzi to know what he brings to the table. Similar to Brad Marchand, Bertuzzi perfectly plays the role of agitator, making the Bruins that much more frustrating to play against.
Bertuzzi has played a key role inside Detroit’s top-six.
Shortly after announcing the trade for Bertuzzi, the Bruins finally announced that they have signed David Pastrnak to an eight-year extension with a cap hit of $11.25 million per season. The deal includes a full no-movement clause for its first five years.
In 60 games Pastrnak has 42 goals and 38 assists for 80 points. He leads the Bruins in goals, assists (38), points (80).
More to come on both...
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